I like not working. I like it very much. I have a new job and it’s called LOOKING. It’s all I do. No errands, no to-do lists. One thing after another is calling for my attention in the garden. I wander in my pajamas from plant to plant.
The pride of madeira is screaming. Here is what she says, “blue blue blue blue blue!”
I am so glad she put on her show before I leave town on Tuesday.
An old cottage is meant to have resting places for plants nailed on its walls.
Less is not more in my back garden patio.
A tangled thicket of soft vines and purple in the iron bathtub. Something new is blooming there.
While I piddle around in the back the cat posse lounges about. Everything I know about resting I learned from them.
There is a line between real and imaginary, but I don’t know what it is. Neither does storybook bird back for a drink of blue.
A frothy sea of white spills over the bluff in the back.
I am reminded of a line from a book:
The world can crush you with its beauty.
Floating upward through a confusion of dreams and memory curving like a trout through the rings of previous risings, I surface. My eyes are open. I am awake.
That from the first paragraph of my new book, Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner. I will carry it to Italy. I am a slow reader of novels. Too much time spent staring into space and thinking about things. Underlining passages. Reading, staring, reading.
Tomorrow I will start thinking about packing. Someone hide my camera!
AHA!!! There is that cute paper bird again. I love his photos. You are going to have a wonderful trip, enjoy every moment!
love all the flowers and plants. makes me want to get busy outside. your red bench is so awesome, i want it! can’t wait to go on your adventure with you. how do i apply for this “looking” position. i think i am qualified.
almost ready – oh you lucky girl! – during spring break, i had similar feelings about not wanting to do anything but play in my journal. I even made an appointment to talk to the retirement guy about projections, etc. Your yard reflects such tender love and awe. You, the cats, and flowers all nourish each equally – the poster children for symbiosis.
sigh
I will be completely OFF LINE during my Italy experience.
All energy will be used up in exploring, working in travel journal, and sipping limoncello from terrace.
Blogging will resume May 1st.
Well. I guess I will have to get myself over to the bookstore and pick one up.
PLEASE do not put down your camera.
Will you be reporting from Italia? I wouldn’t be. I’d be sipping a spritz….prosecco, arnol (I think that’s how it’s spelled) and campari (I think)….dam! I’ve certainly had enough of them, I should know.
If you think you are being crushed now…..just wait.
many years ago I read Stegner – was it Surface of Earth?… hmmmmmm – will go look in the book piles – yes my subtle body will be quietly looking over your shoulder… whispering: E una serata bellissima per una passeggiata… ceniamo sul patio sta sera…
sigh…
xox – eb.
Cats are good teachers.
i love the wall/plant decoration!
Angle of Repose is one I refer back to often but I enjoy all things Stegner. And those journal pages are wonderful; you do inspire, dear heart. This weekend I will clone off a twin to astral project to you on Tuesday and to fly quietly by your side to drink in the Italian sunshine. I’ll be there when you sip your lemoncello – I’ll be that sparkle of light glancing off the side of your martini glass. Head in clouds. Riding the slipstream.
Crossing to Safety is one of my favorite books, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. He is such a great writer, and this is a great story.